Islamic Neighborhood Free Essays

string(21) " of worship as well\." Definition of neighbor from the Islamic perspective Neighbor is translated as â€Å"al Jar† in Arabic terminology. It is derived from the word â€Å"jawara† which is a verb. Literally, â€Å"al-jar† has been defined as â€Å"al-musakanah† which means living, residing, lodging, dwelling or inhabiting side by side. We will write a custom essay sample on Islamic Neighborhood or any similar topic only for you Order Now Indirectly, it also refers to believers and unbelievers, religious and irreligious, friends and enemies, foreigners and fellow countrymen, those who treat you well and those who would do you harm relatives and strangers, those whose houses are near yours as well as those who are further away. Another meaning given to â€Å"al-jar† is ‘al-mulasaqah† which has been translated as sticking, holding fast, adhering to as in the case of a building or a tract of land. It can also be translated as adjoining or touching. Basically, the definition of â€Å"al-mulasaqah† conveys the concept of the three way relationship (Total Planning Doctrine, JPBD) and furthermore broadens the concept of neighbor which is believed to be more appropriate in current situation. In addition, it was stated in Faruqi’s Law Dictionary that â€Å"al-mulasiq â€Å"is juxtaposition while â€Å"mulasiq al-jar† is an abutter.It is understood that â€Å"al-mulasiq† can be Almighty who is close to us and the environment in which we live. Meanwhile, â€Å"mulasiq al-jar† refers to a person who resides or dwells near to another person. He or she can be either a partner in residence or a partner in land possession or a spouse. According to Islamic scholar, Al-Shafi’i, every person who is physically close to another person is called a neighbor. However, the common opinion is that a neighbor is a person whose house is located near to another’s house.That person is considered as neighbor to another and vice versa. The technical meaning of â€Å"al-jar† is the same as the literal meaning. It is the closeness or proximity of residence. In the fourth chapter of the Qur’an, entitled Nisa (Women) God commands us to Serve God, and join not any partners with Him; and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, . . . (Nisa 4:36). Boundaries of neighborhood in Islam There are many opinion based on Muslim scholars regarding the boundaries of neighborhood.According to al-Shafi’iyyah and al-hanabilah, the residents of forty houses in every direction are considered as neighbors. However, according to al-Malikiyyah, he opined that the neighbors can be those who live side by side or opposite or the residents who assembles in a mosque or two mosques in which the residents congregated must not be situated far away. Therefore, the residents will be deemed as neighbors. However, al-Malikiyyah concluded their opinion with the statement that the limitation of neighborhood depends to great extent on customary practices (â€Å"urf†). Abu Hanifah and Zufar confined their definition of neighbor to an abutter only. On the contrary, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad suggested that a neighbor is an adherent person and others who assemble in a mosque. Their definition of neighbor is a combination of local practices and the technical meaning of the term as mentioned earlier. Subsequently, Ali bin Abi Talib prescribed the meaning of neighbor as being as far as the call to prayer can be heard from a particular mosque. Otherwise, people who cannot hear the call to prayer (azan) from that mosque are not considered as neighbor.Apart from that, there is also an additional condition been imposed on the meaning of neighboring or â€Å"al-mujawarah† which is â€Å"al-Ikhtilat† which means socialize. In other words, there is no concept of neighborliness without socializing among the community and in order to well verse the concept of socializing; they must be assembled in a mosque. As additional information, according to Islamic teachings, the closest neighbor is one’s spouse. The next closest neighbor is the one whose door is closest to ours. It is narrated from the Prophet’s wife Aisha that she asked, â€Å"O messenger of God!I have two neighbors, to which one of them should I give a gift? † The Prophet said, â€Å"To the one whose door is nearest to yours. † According to Muslim historians, the closest neighbor at the time of this question was not a Muslim. From this prophetic tradition, it is clear that when it comes to the observation of neighbors’ rights, it makes no difference whether the neighbors are Muslim or non-Muslim. Furthermore, from this prophetic tradition we understand that Muslims are encouraged not only to treat our neighbors kindly, but also to exchange gifts with them.The wording of the tradition does not indicate whether or not the one with whom we exchange gifts is a Muslim. Besides that, there are a number of implications arising from the dispute among Muslims scholars regarding who should be considered as the neighbor of one particular person. Based on our discussion, we do prefer the opinion of al-Malikiyyah who stressed the importance of customary practices in determining the boundaries of neighborhood without neglecting the function f the mosque as a place for the residents to congregate especially the Muslims to serve themselves as slaves to Allah (S. W. T). In our point of view, the implication of the Islamic idea of the settlement for planning neighborhood is rather ideological. One of them is that the planners and users of Islamic neighborhoods perceive the latter as both the fields and means for the implementation of Allah’s commands. Creating decent houses and neighborhoods thus stands for a societal duty the neglecting of which, partly or totally, accounts for a wrong doing. This is so because possessing a decent house which will be surrounded by a decent neighborhood could be seen as falling within the necessary minimum the lack of which may cause one not to be able to rise to the requirements of the vicegerent task for which people have been created. Moreover, neighborhoods with all their facilities assist people in discharging the diverse worship activities of theirs. In Islam, the notion of worship is a universal one encompassing every action of men, which means the process of creating excellent neighborhoods can be transformed into an act of worship as well. You read "Islamic Neighborhood" in category "Papers" Importance of Neighbors and Their RightsIn Islam, refraining from harming one’s neighbor is a part of faith. The Prophet sometimes used to show the importance of teachings by saying, â€Å"Whoever believes in God and the Last Day let him do such-and-such . . . .† Among the prophetic traditions that employ this method of conveying a message is the following narrated from Abu Hurayra: â€Å"Whoever believes in God and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor. † Another important teaching of God’s Messenger showing the importance of neighborliness is narrated from Anas: â€Å"By Him in whose hand is my soul, no man truly believes until he loves for his neighbor what he loves for himself. The Prophet stated that treating our neighbors well is a part of being a Muslim. Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet said, â€Å"Be God-fearing: you will be the best in worship among the people.Be content with your lot: you will be the most grateful of people. Like for people what you would like for yourself: you will be a believer. Treat your neighbor well: you will be a Muslim. † Other important teachings on neighborliness include visiting neighbors when they are ill, consoling them at times of sorrow and congratulating them at times of joy, not staring into their house, not staring at what they carry into heir house and not looking at their womenfolk, taking care of their family’s needs when they are absent, and forgiving their mistakes. Good Relations with Neighbors The importance of having good relationships with neighbors is sometimes emphasized in general as in the following tradition narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr: â€Å"The best of friends, in God’s sight, is the one who is best to his friend; and the best of neighbors, in God’s sight, is the one who is best to his neighbor. † Sometimes very specific aspects of neighbor relationships are pinpointed, but the recommendations do not stop there.We are encouraged not only to have good relations with our neighbors, but also to initiate good deeds. For instance, we are recommended to be the first to greet a neighbor. Kindness to neighbors is always presented as the norm. In Islam, being good to one’s neighbors encompasses a number of deeds: visiting them, being kind to them in general, and helping them when they need our help. The recommendations even go as far as buying similar things for our neighbors’ children to those we buy for ours. If we are unable to do this, we are discouraged from showing our neighbors’ children what we bought for our children.Narrated from Aisha, the Prophet said, â€Å"Gabriel kept recommending me to treat my neighbor well until I thought that he would tell me to make him one of my heirs. † Abda ibn Ali Lubaba narrates from the Messenger of God: â€Å"No deed which harms a neighbor can be regarded as insignificant. † We should share what we have with our neighbors. Narrated from Abu Dharr the Prophet stated, â€Å"Whenever you cook some stew, add extra water to it, then look for some household in your neighborhood and give it to them in kindness. In his historic sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage, in which he summarized the most important points of his teachings, the Prophet did not fail to mention neighbors and emphasized their rights to such an extent that the eminent companion Abu Umama also thought that the Prophet would make neighbors heirs: â€Å"I heard the Prophet when he was seated on his she-camel during the Farewell Pilgrimage, saying, ‘I enjoin you to treat your neighbors well,’ and urging their good treatment so much that I thought, he is going to give them the rights of inheritance. Christian and Jewish Neighbors in Islam History bears witness to the fact that Christians and Jews, the â€Å"People of the Book† as they are called in the Qur’an, have lived alongside Muslims in many regions of the Islamic world, secure in the knowledge that they, their honor, and their wealth were safe, enjoying a good neighborly relationship, with good treatment and freedom of worship.Their ancient churches still exist in Muslim villages clinging to mountaintops, surrounded by Muslim community who upholds the well-being of their Jewish and Christian neighbors. When the Prophet was about to pass on to the next world, he stated: â€Å"I place in your trust the People of the Book, the Christians and Jews. † When ‘Umar was in the throes of death due to a dagger wound, he warned: â€Å"I place the People of the Book among us in your trust.Fear God regarding them and treat them justly. † Islam aims at spreading mutual love and affection among neighbors. The ways in which people may achieve this are many, and include attitudes ranging from making sure that your neighbor does not sleep hungry while you sleep well fed, to the exchange of gifts. The Muslim attitude toward neighbors includes wishing for their neighbors what they wish for themselves. It includes the sharing of happiness and sorrow.It prohibits spying on them, gossiping about them, and harming them in any way. Instead it establishes respect for their privacy, and keeping common use areas—such as apartment building entrances, streets and sidewalks—clean. The Prophet also said, â€Å"Among the things that bring happiness to a Muslim in this life are a righteous neighbor, a spacious house, and a good steed. † We have tried to shed some light on the Muslim attitude toward neighbors and the importance of neighbor relationships in Islam. The Islamic tradition in this respect is fairly rich and invites the interested reader to further research. A healthy society can be established only through healthy neighborhoods. Education is the key to instilling healthy attitudes of neighborliness in our children as well as in adults. This concept deserves discussion in the classrooms of public schools as well as in seminars and conferences in universities. This flower should be given to all societies as a gift and love should be shared in the community through knowledge. How to cite Islamic Neighborhood, Papers

Best Buy Management

Question: What isBest Buy? Explain. Answer: Best buy is an american multinational corporation that deals in consumer electronics and goods. The company has its headquarters in richfield, minnesota while it operates in the united states, canada and mexico. The company was founded in 1966 as an audio speciality store by richard m. Schulze and gary smoliak and shifted its focus towards consumer electronics during 1983. Recently, in 2011, the company closed all its stores in china and merged them with five star. The company deals in a variety of consumer electronics and merchandise, such as software, video games, smartphones, video cameras, digital cameras, home appliances, etc. In a non-commissioned sales environment. The company has a workforce of almost 125,000 employees and has around 1,050 stores throughout the world. The company earned revenue of $42.568 billion in 2016 ("about best buy - best buy corporate news and information", 2016). The company has been criticised by the customers on a number of grounds, such as pricing and warranty issues but the company has been following ethical and green business practices since quite some time. The company is one of the many large companies that were criticised for purchasing raw material from companies that were causing unethical deforestation of taiga in canada. Since then, the company launched a greener together program, which was aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of its products and stores so that the company could play its role in saving the environment. The company is one of the top 50 companies that use green power. In 2011, best buy purchased around 119 million kilowatt-hours of green energy that was generated from renewable sources of energy. Best buy structural changes One of the major concerns for the company has been the rising competition in the industry. The company has been facing a lot of stiff competition from a number of companies, such as amazon, which operates throughout the world and is dominating the online retailing industry since quite some time. To meet with the increasing competition and to bring down the operating costs, the management at best buy has been restructuring and cutting down its workforce since a long time. The company has been shaking down the structures of its workforce, including some senior level managers, so that it can become more competitive and can strengthen its market position in the years to come. One of the biggest structural changes that the company has ever introduced was seen in the year 2014. The company shook up its entire workforce when the rumours about the company laying off thousands of employees came out in the media. Earlier, the company had introduced a great leadership change in the year 2012, w hen it also closed some of its stores ("best buy canada to close stores, cut jobs in restructuring", 2016). Best buy co. Inc., in 2012, made an announcement about a change in the leadership of its united states operations, which also included the departure of two senior executives who had been working for a very long time with the company. The people who were being replaced were mike vitelli, who had been leading the companys us business since 2010 and tim sheehan, the executive vice president of the companys us operations (market, n.d.). The company also announced that its united states business would be divided into two channels, which were online and retail. The two new heads who were appointed to look after the channels were stephen gillett, president of digital and marketing, taking control of the online channel and shawn score, head of the companys connectivity business group was made the head of the retail channel. A number of sources thus reveal that the company has been struggling a lot in meeting the challenges posed by the increasing competition and needs to introduce an effecti ve change to deal with the problems ("forbes welcome", n.d.). Designing a change program Best buy is a company that had incredible results in the past but with the increase and rise in the industry competition, the company lost its business to big market players. The company is still struggling and facing a lot of problems in facing the stiff market competition and has been downsizing its workforce in order to reduce the operational costs and become more effective (sag, 2014). It is evident that the company requires a major change in its structure and operational activities so that it would be able to become more competitive in the year to come. Some sources also show that best buy was able to experience improvements in their financial outputs after they started laying off their employees but the reasons behind the improvement were not just related to employee layoffs. The improved financial outputs were due to launch of new gaming consoles, high demand for smartphones and latest led tvs, which shows that best buy could not achieve the desired results even after laying odd thousands of employees and changing the leaders of the organisation, which is one of the biggest form of change for any company ("forbes welcome", n.d.). Let us discuss a change program that would help the company in reviving its market position: First of all, the company needs to restructure its organisation from top to bottom. The company has been struggling with its organisational structure, which is evident from the fact that it has been changing its senior level executives and has been laying off thousands of employees year after year. The tendency of the company to lay off employees regularly fosters fear amongst the workforce that they might be laid off during the next downsizing. Such practices do not foster a good work environment. Therefore, the company needs to carefully analyse its human resource requirements and should try to keep only as many number of employees as are required for the proper running of operations. The downsizing should be done only once, rather than doing it year after year, and the workforce that is laid off should be properly compensated for being laid off. Once the company is able to maintain adequate workforce, it would not have to spend additional operating expenses in maintaining a larger workforce, which is not even required. Secondly, the company needs to think of a paying scheme that would allow the company to pay variable salaries to the employees, rather than paying them fixed salaries. As the company is into consumer electronics sales business, the company can implement a variable pay scheme for some employees, if not all. This would greatly help the company in cutting down the operating costs as it would not have to pay higher salaries when the sales go down. The strategy would also help the company in increasing employee engagement as they would try to work harder to earn higher salaries. The company accounts for almost one third of all the us consumer electronic purchases and is losing its market share quickly. It would not be wrong to anticipate that the company will lose all its business to the competition in the years to come. The sole reason behind the downfall of the company is that more and more retail stores are entering into the market and are increasing the competition. With the spread of apple retail stores across the world, the company further suffered a great loss in its business. One of the urgent changes that the company needs to introduce is to tie up with more and more electronic brands and introduce more products in its stores ("forbes welcome", n.d.). The company should be challenging the market competitors in terms of both price and variety. The company needs to change its strategy and lay a greater focus on pricing strategies as customers these days are looking for cheaper products. According to some resources, it has been found that the customers use best buy as a showroom to check prices of products while they make the final purchase from other online retailers, such as amazon. Multinational companies, such as wal-mart, amazon, etc. Have been able to capture the market by keeping their prices low and sticking to aggressive market strategies. Best buy too needs to regain its confidence and rather than focusing upon reducing operational costs by laying off employees, the company should now change its strategic focus and adopt strategies that would help it in providing better quality products at cheaper prices. Change agents and organisational culture The company is facing a critical situation where its business is at high risk due to increasing market competition. In such a scenario, a wrong step would do more harm to the company than the potential benefits of a successful change or strategy. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the management to carefully plan its moves, especially when it comes to downsizing of the organisation. The company needs to involve a number of change agents that would help the management in bringing about the change that it is planning to introduce. One of the

Ethnic Polarization and the Duration of Civil War

Introduction The article discusses the relationship between the civil war duration and ethnic polarization. The arguments in the article provide that civil wars are key barriers to the development of the economy. Civil wars lead to the destruction of infrastructure, loss of human life and have an effect on future prospects for investment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethnic Polarization and the Duration of Civil War specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The causes of civil wars can be analyzed in relation to their onsets, the duration of the wars, as well as the incidence of civil wars. Civil wars may start randomly, after which conflicts emerge. Factors such as a country having mountains where rebels can hide also contribute to the onset of civil wars. Civil wars may also emanate from low per capita income; this makes a civil war last longer than it would have lasted if the per capita income was high. Lack of demo cracy may also trigger a civil war as rebels form militia groups in order to oust an undemocratic regime (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Literature Review The available literature indicates that certain factors can be attributed to the onset of civil wars. One of the methods used in the estimation of the civil war onset includes logic regression, which analyses some of the causes as high population, with high primary commodity exports, as well as a population that is highly dispersed. Inequalities in incomes, ethnic differences and political liberties may not be significant risk factors for civil war. The available literature also indicates another probable causes of civil war which is oil exports in a country. An analysis on the incidence of civil war shows ethnic polarization as one of the factors affecting the incidence of such wars (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Analysis by Montalvo and Reynal-Qureol shows that democracy and export have little impact on civil wars. In ter ms of duration of civil wars, Gates and Strand estimate that major factors influencing this issue are political instability, parallel conflicts and autocratic regimes. Studies also indicate that income inequality can be regarded as a main cause of civil wars (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Method/Methodology Certain methods can be used to explain the relationship that exists between civil wars incidence and ethnic polarization. One method, which can be utilized, is the traditional ration form, which defines a quadratic based cost function, contest success function, as well as pure contest equilibrium.Advertising Looking for essay on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another model that can be employed to establish relationship between conflict and ethnic polarization, is taking a country that consists of two social groups. This model shows that the discovery of a natural resource may trigger violence between the two groups. The methodology used to establish the relationship between civil wars and ethnic polarization is also based on measuring the duration in relation to years, months, weeks, as well as days (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Methods such as Kaplan-Meier estimation of the survival function can be used to establish the relationship existing between ethnic polarization and duration of civil wars. Based on this method, survival function of countries that have low ethnic polarization tends to be dominated by nations with high ethnic polarization (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Results As indicated in the results provided in the article, ethnic polarization has a profound impact on civil war duration. More pronounced ethnic polarization indicates that the civil wars will last longer than expected. Therefore, ethnic disparities within a population may cause civil wars that may even last for decades. Attention should be directed at polarized countries in order to come up wi th measures, which will ensure civil wars do not take a toll on the population (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Works Cited Montalvo, Jose Marta Reynal-Querol. â€Å"Ethnic polarization and the duration of civil wars†. Econ Gov 11 (2010):123–143. Print. This essay on Ethnic Polarization and the Duration of Civil War was written and submitted by user Ronald Nunez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

On the Idle Hill and The Drum Essays

On the Idle Hill and The Drum Essays On the Idle Hill and The Drum Paper On the Idle Hill and The Drum Paper Essay Topic: A. E. Housman Poems Poetry War, in any shape or form, affects people in many different ways. Many people choose to express their feelings and experiences of war in poems. The two poems I have chosen all have different moods, structures and rhythms but their meaning is all the same- war is ruthless, terrifying and pointless. The poem On the Idle Hill is by A. E. Housman (1859-1936). Housman wrote the poem in 1896 and he was not writing about any particular war but just the horror of battle in general. Housman never partook in any war but heard about the terror of it from other peoples experiences. The first verse portrays a peaceful, happy and a warm scene. Words such as summer, sleepy and streams emphasises this. However, the steady drummer cuts through this peaceful atmosphere. It is the sound of the army coming, looking for new recruits to go to war with them. The first stanza seems to be about the drum and how it calls people to war and tears them away from their homes. The line; Drumming like a noise in dreams. Makes the drum seem like a nightmare, something everyone dreads. In the second verse, the tone is lot sadder and darker. The phrases, Far and near and low and louder are suggesting war is everywhere, and can be seen in different levels all over the world. Probably one of the most striking and powerful lines in the poem, Dear to friends and food for powder is very shocking and adds a more personal theme to the poem, because the soldiers are now being seen as friends, fathers and real people instead of just toys in war. The powder is gunpowder so the poet is hinting at the fact that the men are just food for the war. The war is made to sound like a real living thing; this is a good example of personification. The final line of verse two, Soldiers marching, all to die. is depressing and it emphasises the pointlessness and horror of war. The rhyme in On the Idle Hill is a b a b and it keeps a slow, steady rhythm throughout the poem, giving a sad, melancholy tone to the poem. The form is which the writer has set out the poem, in four verses; it is effective because each one talks about a different aspect of war. This poem shows A. E. Housmans hatred of battle and how pointless and ruthless he thinks it is. War has obviously affected him deeply and we can see from his language throughout the poem that he feels very strongly about it. In both poems, they both use similar devices such as similes, metaphors and personification. They were both set in the Pre 1914, the effectiveness of both poems have a very big impact because of these quotations: Lovely lads and dead and rotten; for the Idle Hill and for the Drum its this: And burning towns, and ruined swains, both poems show the misery of war and it impacts the reader making them, feel more sorry for the people that went to war and the people will think war is not patriotic but its unpatriotic. The cultural and social background for Drum and Idle Hill are between wars.

The Mental Status Examination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Mental Status Examination - Essay Example He was finally taken to the rehabilitation centre after along struggle. Joni finished high school and was enrolled in a middle college. However, he dropped from the college after two semesters due to drug influence. In the college, he had other friends whom they were taking drugs together. Because of this, they were suspended and warned of arrest incase they proceeded with the act. However, he stated that the administration was just suspecting and he had to move away fast before any action. However, he seems to be above average because he reports that he had passed well in high school. The language proficiency and fluency were evidenced since he could coordinate well with little difficulty. Therefore, he can be considered as brilliant. Joni initially started using the drug while at the age of eighteen. Before, he started drinking alcohol every weekend. Gradually, his interest shifted to smoking cigarettes until he graduated to cocaine use while in the college. This practice proceeded and the frequency increased daily. He did not realize that he had become addicted until one day when he missed taking the substance he became very sick and started trembling. On taking the drug, he felt good and was then motivated more to continue with the drug usage. At the age of twenty two years, the body’s demand went higher and he introduced the injection. He stared doing the injection once a day, but later in a few months the rate of usage increased to about three to four times a day. Joni is still struggling to abandon the drug use because he has started feeling the consequences and challenges. The challenges he faces are mental in nature. Since I can understand his responses, he now has some small mental challenge cases that needed to be addressed. Joni appeared to be older than his age and was looking frustrated.

Cloud over Water by Paterson Ewen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cloud over Water by Paterson Ewen - Essay Example â€Å"Cloud over Water†, a striking painting by Paterson Ewen, always succeeds to draw the attention of people. Ewen’s work basically consists of acrylic on gouged plywood and galvanized steel. It has some supernatural qualities presenting a little white cloud placed in a conceptually textured sky present over the multicolored calm sea. On doing the detailed analysis of the â€Å"Moon Series† created by Ewen, one can observe that almost all of his created landscapes have moon in it, whereas â€Å"Cloud in Water† does not have any moon in it. In the 19th century the landscapes painted by the artists portrayed a tamed sublimity. The art presented by Paterson Ewen took the painting and coloring techniques to new heights. His abstract and his use of vibrant colors made his style more expressive. One of his contributions to the art is his ways through which he creatively exploits his materials and the quality of paints and colors that he uses. His illustrative aspects towards the landscape painting are considered to be some of his contributions towards the history of Landscape paintings. However on analyzing the historical aspects of Canadian Landscape painting one can see that it was categorized by wilderness. The European Landscape painters at the time of Ewen tried to minimize the presence of humans as it was considered one of the national tradition of the English speaking and Canadians, as the absence of a humanly figure was considered to be a pre-requisite for nobility. â€Å"Cloud in Water† is a creation of Paterson Ewen.

Cultural Differences in the Workplace: Australia and US

Cultural Differences in the Workplace: Australia and US Tim Johnson Anthropologist, James Downs, defined culture as â€Å"a mental map which guides us in our relations to our surroundings and to other people† (Linsell, 2011). This definition supports the idea that culture influences the way in which individuals behave. America and Australia are connected in many ways, and both countries’ success is blatantly predominant even at a quick glance. Both countries are far more superior to the majority of countries around the globe, and a reason for that is their culture sets higher standards in their attempts to continue towards greatness. Although there are many similarities between the Australian and U.S. workplace culture, there are characteristics that illustrate the distinctions between the two cultures. The United States and Australia have very similar upbringings, which is the result of their ties to the British colonies. The United States was formed as a result of immigrants fleeing from religious persecution, while Australia was settled by government workers and convicts. Both countries have similar cultures because the ancestors were predominantly Anglo- Saxon/ Caucasians, and both â€Å"cultures grew through liberal immigration policies† (Linsell, 2011). The reason both nations illustrate similarities in culture is because they share connection to British involvement. The Australian workplace culture differs from most, but Australia has found ways to promote excellence while still promoting happiness. Australia has a community-oriented heritage and is supporters of egalitarianism (Linsell, 2011). Egalitarianism can be defined as equality for all of man with respect to economics, politics, and society. The Australian workplace is also very multicultural, and one in every 4 workers is from another culture (â€Å"Spectrum MRC†, 2012). Australia also embraces different practices compared to the United States. These practices are reflected in their sometimes informal business meetings and interviews. The informality can be illustrated through their non-verbal communication such as proximity when interacting and body language (â€Å"Spectrum MRC†, 2012). To an outsider the Australian workplace culture may seem informal, but within many domestic organizations this is common practice. Australian organizations prefer autonomy and flexibility in the workplace (Linsell, 2011), because it promotes a positive atmosphere that results in higher productivity. The United States workplace culture is centered on command- control leadership and is hierarchy based, because equality is not deemed as important (Linsell, 2011). The hierarchy that the U.S. practices creates competition within the workplace to strive for success, while endorsing a selfish mentality among the employees. The United States takes a â€Å"business first approach†, and favors when employees separate their business and personal lives (â€Å"U.S. Business Culture†, 2011). This approach statistically encourages a more focused workplace, but at the cost of employees not finding enjoyment in their work and with their colleagues. To this day, America is still commonly referred to as â€Å"The Melting Pot† even though the individuals that use this term do not know the true origin. This term was coined in the beginning of the 20th Century to characterize how the immigrants were all mixing together and creating one blended culture. Most individuals improperly use the term to describe different cultures simply living among one another. Australia is wonderful because there are so many diverse cultures, but all of the cultures remain unique and avoid merging in to one. The lack of combining promotes individuality, which aids in the citizens and in turn the employees becoming better developed and appreciative of their positions. The American culture is about demonstrating assertion and never displaying weakness, because weakness is commonly associated with failure. Even though the United States exhibits superiority and their practices are effective, they sacrifice the personal connections that aid to create higher team morale. The workplace culture of Australia and the U.S. take different approaches to how they operate their organizations, but similarities overlap in both cultures. The similarity that is predominant in both countries is the controversy of gender inequality (Leahy, 2011). Currently women in the workforce aren’t â€Å"able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources, and opportunities† (Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2013) that men receive in the same workplace. Even in modern society discrimination still resonates and women are unfairly forced to deal with this injustice. The term most commonly used to describe the gender inequality present in the workplace is â€Å"the glass ceiling† (Cotter, Hermsen, Ovadia, Vanneman, 2001). The glass ceiling alludes to a woman’s ability to see to a further point than she can actually reach. Even if the average woman attempted to work towards a higher ranking position, she will typically come across difficulty when tryi ng to advance to that position. Women are still facing discrimination in employment (Doughney, 2007) and more men reach higher paid executive and specialized positions (Ross-Smith McGraw, 2010). Australia and the United States have similarities and differences, but even though they are both global leaders they still have room to expand and change from their current discriminatory practices. My experience in an Australian workplace has been eye opening and led me to a culture that has many positive differences from my own. An aspect of Australian culture that differs from my experiences in the United States is the desire to promote a community based workplace. At Greenwood Dental the employees were completely welcoming and personable; this was the beginning to my acceptance in to their workplace family. After interning for a few days, they began to see my hard work ethic and my willingness to assist anyone’s needs. My determination to benefit their business in any way possible illustrated to them that I was serious about becoming a part of their team, and from that point on I was viewed as a team member. A prime example of their communal persona is seen in their lunch break room. The break room has qualities similar to a family room in a household and they also bring food for everyone to share. This may not seem like much, but promoting this type of workplace led to a productive and friendly environment. Typically in the United States, everyone keeps to themselves and does their own work, but in Australia they believe in a civic based culture. Australian culture favors equality and during my time at Greenwood, I never felt underappreciated or like an outsider. In the U.S. it is very common to feel isolated and unacknowledged, because everyone is trying to advance themselves instead of working collaboratively. All the employees know their position within the company and that the dentists are the priority, but everyone’s position is necessary in order to run a successful business. Greenwood Dental was made up of many different cultures and it was exciting working with such a diverse group of individuals. It is imperative that individuals submerge themselves in additional cultures in order to understand others and even more importantly develop themselves. Greenwood Dental’s staff consists of employees from seven different countries, so being immersed in such a culturally rich environment aided my development towards better understanding and respect for equality. Australia and the United States come from related backgrounds and as a result the cultures share comparable characteristics, but when analyzing workplace culture the distinction is tremendously clear. The Australian workplace culture tends to be more communal and flexible, while the U.S. encourages hierarchy and competition. A positive workplace culture is a result of motivation, productivity, quality work, and retention (â€Å"Building a Positive†, 2013) and in my opinion Australia is better at acquiring the positive workplace with respect to America. Australian culture strives for positivity and satisfaction, while the United States attempts to improve only their economic status. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, once said, â€Å"Happiness is not the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort†. After my experiences in Australia, I can assert that Australia’s workplace with respect to the U.S. has a more positive, enjoyable, and overall better atmosphere to be a part of. The Australian workplace culture chooses to sacrifice uniformity in order to allow for individuality and happiness. Bibliography Attitude Works. (2013).  Building a positive workplace culture. Retrieved from  http://www.attitudeworks.com.au/AW_pages/attitudes/positive/positive.html Cotter, D., Hermsen, J., Ovadia, S., Vanneman, R. (2001). The glass ceiling effect.  The  University of North Carolina Press,  80(2), 655-682. Retrieved from  http://www.vanneman.umd.edu/papers/CotterHOV01.pdf Cross Border Management. 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